Heroes of the Storm’s second ranked season is coming to a close next week! We’ve got a few changes in store for ranked play during Season 3, as well as a host of new rewards that you can earn just by playing ranked games.

Season Roll Dates

Season 3 will begin as soon as our next patch becomes available for download in each region throughout next week. Check the season start and end dates below to make sure you’re able to dive into the rankings as soon as the season rolls.

*Exact date may vary slightly by region.

Season 3 Updates

Party Size Changes for Hero and Team League

At BlizzCon this year, we mentioned a few party size adjustments that we’d like to try during a future season of ranked play. With the start of Season 3, we’ve decided to remove parties from Hero League and allow smaller party sizes to queue for Team League as a single-season trial. Here are the exact changes we’re going to make with the start of Season 3:

• Hero League
  • Players can no longer queue for Hero League games in parties.
• Team League
  • Parties containing two, three, or five players can now queue for Team League matches.
    • All players in two and three-player parties must be ranked within a single league of one another in order to queue for Team League. This rule works just like it did in Hero League during previous seasons.
    • Players in full parties can queue for Team League with any mixture of league rankings.
  • While players will need to have access to at least 14 Heroes in order to play Team League, there are still no minimum Hero level requirements in order to queue for Team League matches.
  • Team League will still utilize First Come, First Serve (FCFS) during Draft Mode, which means that parties of two and three players will need to coordinate effectively when drafting their Heroes.
  • Players who are currently silenced or penalized for leaving games early can no longer queue for Team League for the duration of their penalties.

Once again, these changes are intended as a trial run during Season 3, and may be reverted next season if we are not happy with how they affect ranked play overall. We’d love to read your thoughts on party sizes in ranked play once you’ve had the chance to play a few matches during the new season. Head to the official Heroes forums to let us know what you think.

League Distribution Adjustments

We keep a close eye on league distribution throughout each season of ranked play, and we’d like to make a couple of changes that will improve the overall health of the league system going forward. With the start of Season 3, the population sizes of Silver and Gold leagues will be adjusted so that each will contain a similar number of players. Additionally, we’re going to reduce the population size of Diamond by half in order to help preserve some of the prestige that comes along with brawling your way into the upper leagues. We’ll continue to monitor league sizes going forward, and can make further adjustments in future seasons as needed.

Placement Matches

In addition to everything we’ve mentioned so far, there will be 10 placement matches waiting for you on the other side of the season roll that you’ll need to play through in order to receive your initial ranking. To help ensure our ranked modes have the most accurate matchmaking information possible, we’re also going to reset placements for players who have not queued for ranked in a while.

If you didn’t finish at least 15 Team League games last season, but played a substantial number of Hero League games, and your Hero League MMR is significantly different from your Team League MMR, we will use your Hero League MMR for your initial Team League placements.

Hero League will work this way as well. If you didn't finish at least 15 Hero League games, we will use your Unranked Draft MMR or Quick Match MMR for initial placements, depending on which mode you played more of during the previous season.

We also plan to once again loosen the system’s certainty level in everyone’s skill rating, so it’ll be a little easier to move up or down through the rankings during your first few matches this season.

Season 3 Rewards

Players who manage to brawl their way up through the leagues during Ranked Season 3 can claim a new portrait, mount, and gold rewards for their achievements in Hero and Team League. Take a look at everything that’s up for grabs this season!

Hero League Portraits

Team League Portraits

Elemental Stag Mount

Hero League                                                              Team League 

In addition to everything we’ve mentioned so far, there will be 10 placement matches waiting for you on the other side of the season roll that you’ll need to play through in order to receive your initial ranking. We also plan to once again loosen the system’s certainty level in everyone’s skill rating, so it’ll be a little easier to move up or down through the rankings during your first few matches this season.

If you’re ready to begin your Ranked Play journey in Heroes of the Storm but are unsure how, head over to our Ranked Play Guide to get started on the right foot. 

Good luck and have fun during Ranked Season 3!